{"id":47,"date":"2016-02-24T20:20:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-24T20:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/137.148.11.35\/wordpress\/lets-go-shopping\/?post_type=chapter&p=47"},"modified":"2018-11-28T12:44:52","modified_gmt":"2018-11-28T17:44:52","slug":"the-sterling-lindner-davis-story","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/chapter\/the-sterling-lindner-davis-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sterling-Lindner-Davis Story"},"content":{"raw":"The Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company represented the oldest of eight major department stores in downtown Cleveland.\u00a0 It began rather modestly in 1845 as the Thomas S. Beckwith Dry Goods\u00a0Company.\u00a0 A highly respected and innovative business leader, Thomas Beckwith\u00a0(1821-1876) operated a very successful enterprise for many years.\u00a0[footnote] \u201cDeath of T.S. Beckwith.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 7, 1876.[\/footnote] \u00a0His store at 187-189 Superior Avenue\u00a0featured costly broadloom carpets, ornate window shades, historic tapestries and elegant lace curtains.\u00a0[footnote]\u201cCarpets, New Carpets for the Spring Trade.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 8, 1867.[\/footnote] George P. Welch\u00a0and W.R. Havens\u00a0in 1865 joined the firm.\u00a0 With the addition, in 1867, of local retailer Frederick A. Sterling, this specialty store became Beckwith, Sterling and Company.\u00a0[footnote] \u201cSterling and Welch President is Dead.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, February 23, 1920.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nKnown for its oil cloths, upholstered goods and velvet, Beckwith\u2019s enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth following the Civil War. \u00a0Under the able leadership of Frederick A. Sterling\u00a0(1831-1919), this retail establishment, in 1874, moved from its cramped Superior Avenue\u00a0quarters to a more modern and spacious facility at 6 Euclid Street.\u00a0[footnote]\u201cNew Mammoth Carpet Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 17, 1874.[\/footnote] With the death of T.S. Beckwith, the store became known as Sterling & Company.\u00a0 Sterling & Company remained at that site until 1883 when it relocated to 10 Euclid Street.[footnote] \u201cSterling and Company Are Offering the Largest and Most Varied Assortment of Choice Fall Styles.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 10, 1883.[\/footnote] These premises featured ornate lighting, splashy glass display counters and thick broadloom carpeting.\r\n\r\nProviding free carpeting for large commercial structures such as auditoriums, office buildings and hotels, helped to promote this department store.\u00a0\u00a0 Sterling & Company also furnished free carpeting for special events and model homes. This advertising devise impressed many including Euclid Avenue millionaires.\u00a0 They increasingly shopped at Sterling & Company.\u00a0 A sizable investment by George W. Kleim, in 1885, led to the store\u2019s incorporation in January 1886.\u00a0 Now recast as Sterling & Welch Company, this retailer soon found that its limited selection of merchandise hindered its potential future growth.\u00a0 In particular, their lack of home furnishings forced the wealthy Euclid Avenue crowd to look elsewhere.\u00a0 In order to remedy this situation, Sterling & Welch expanded its product lines to include quality furniture, special electrical fixtures, comfortable hammocks, and beautiful Turkish rugs.\u00a0[footnote] \u201cHammocks, Mosquito Canopies.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 23, 1884.[\/footnote] Store officials also offered porch canopies and luxurious matting.\r\n\r\nExpanding their lines paid-off handsomely.\u00a0 It soon became the popular store for Cleveland\u2019s elite.\u00a0 Store officials cherished that distinction for many years.\u00a0 National trade journals at the turn of the last century praised Sterling & Welch as one of Ohio\u2019s finest and largest home furnishing stores.\u00a0 Their knowledgeable sales staff was second to none.\u00a0 Economic depressions in 1893 and 1907 did not adversely affect it as store sales reached impressive, new levels.\r\n\r\nTo celebrate its phenomenal growth, Sterling & Welch Company\u00a0in 1908 began construction on their new department store.\u00a0 Situated in the heart of Playhouse Square\u00a0at 1225-39 Euclid Avenue and designed by the noted local architect J. Milton Dyer\u00a0(1870-1957), this $500,000, five-story reinforced steel structure featured a fanciful terra-cotta exterior veneer.\u00a0 It opened for business in May 1909.\u00a0[footnote] \u201cThe Sterling and Welch Company.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 6, 1909.[\/footnote] Sterling & Welch was now the 4th largest store in Cleveland.\u00a0 Its landmark French styled wrought-iron and glass front portico shielded shoppers from inclement weather for many years to come.\u00a0 This new retail establishment included model showrooms, 3,000 sprinklers, three large elevators, a freight elevator and an attached warehouse.\u00a0 It also boasted a pneumatic messenger service and state-of-the-art cleaning system throughout.\r\n\r\nThe Sterling & Welch Company\u00a0took great pride in their versatile interior decorators.\u00a0 They knew quality design and recognized value.\u00a0 The store expanded its merchandise line further during the First World War.\u00a0 New items included such things as specialty lighting fixtures, electric radiators, refrigerators, electric iron and washing machines.\u00a0[footnote] \u201cFor Sixty Dollars.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 14, 1915.[\/footnote] \u00a0Employees also volunteered in preparing supplies for the various military hospitals.\u00a0[footnote] \u201cPrepare Supplies for War Hospital.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 8, 1914.[\/footnote] The 1920s began with officials expanding the store\u2019s delivery fleet.\u00a0 Board members also unveiled the \u201cthe Aisle of Gifts.\u201d\u00a0 Placed within the store\u2019s enormous atrium, this aisle made Christmas shopping much easier especially for men.\u00a0 Sales rose significantly during the mid-1920s with the introduction of vacuum cleaners, metal safety deposit boxes and Japanese wicker baskets.\r\n\r\nOfficials, in the 1920s, also introduced their-own Bureau of Suggestions.[footnote] \u201cA Gorgeous Autumnal Showing of the World\u2019s Applied Arts.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 25, 1925.[\/footnote] This new department, in cooperation with its decorating division, offered advice on redecorating homes and offices.\u00a0 The Sterling & Welch Company\u00a0also sponsored an interior decorating show on WJAX-radio.[footnote] \u201cRadio Programs for Today.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 9, 1924.[\/footnote] It opened in 1926 a new warehouse and prestigious art gallery.\u00a0 An outgrowth of an earlier traveling show that featured painting and sculpture, this gallery sold fine art.\u00a0 The public loved it and it soon became a permanent department in Sterling & Welch.[footnote] \u201cA Sale that Places the Smartest of Summer Furniture in Every Home.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 20, 1926.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nFurther additions to this store in the late 1920s included an expanded china and crystal department, majestic living room exhibition, model kitchen, lighting salon and floor covering gallery.\u00a0 Sterling & Welch in June 1929 opened its-own special economy basement.[footnote] \u201cTomorrow, The Sterling and Welch Company Announce the Economy Basement Opens Saturday.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 27, 1929.[\/footnote] This department contained fifteen model rooms each with its-own inexpensive furniture, curtains, lamps, mirrors and pictures.\u00a0 The Great Depression of the 1930s represented a period of great change and compromise for this store.\u00a0 This venerable retail establishment attempted to help its customers financially.\u00a0 It unveiled a new deferred payment plan\u00a0whereby qualified customers had up to eight months from the time of purchase to pay the balance due without incurring any additional charges.[footnote] \u201cChristmas Cheer Throughout the Year with Radio.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 14, 1930.[\/footnote]\u00a0New merchandise presented in the 1930s included electric ranges, different brands of -radios and phonographs and improved electric washing machines.\r\n\r\nOfficials at Sterling & Welch also sponsored a number of special promotions and contests throughout the 1930s and 1940s.\u00a0 One of these promotions involved a mechanical robot called Willie Vocalite.[footnote]\u201cToday Only, Willie Vocalite.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 14, 1931.[\/footnote] It could do many things much to the delight of its audience.\u00a0 Store officials also co-sponsored Annual Treasure Hunts.\u00a0 Winners won over $2,000 in cash prizes.\u00a0 Store executives, in 1932, unveiled their first spruce Christmas tree.[footnote] \u201cTree Grows in Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 13, 1932.[\/footnote] An immediate favorite with shoppers, it was located within the retailer\u2019s gift shop court.\u00a0 By the 1960s, it topped fifty feet and included 1,300 electric lights, 1,500 ornaments and 60 pounds of tinfoil icicles.\u00a0 Sterling and Welch, in 1940, led the pact when it introduced mail order shopping and special mail-in coupons.[footnote] \u201cBest Curtain Values, In the Twice-A-Year Sale.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 27, 1940.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Christmas gift certificates also appeared for the first time in 1940 as did free home demonstrations for the brand new Apex Deluxe Cabinet Ironer.[footnote] \u201cApex Deluxe Cabinet Ironer.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 27, 1940.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe winter of 1942 found executives at Sterling & Welch selling a great many U.S. War Bonds and Savings Stamps.\u00a0 Store officials, that same year, shortened business hours and put a freeze on hiring.[footnote] \u201cTwice-a-Year Sale.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 19, 1942.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Unfortunately, unanticipated new problems surfaced much to the dismay of store executives.\u00a0 The American Federation of Labor Retail Clerks Union, dissatisfied with management\u2019s treatment of union employees, closed the store on March 12, 1946.\u00a0 Store officials asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)\u00a0to select a bargaining agent for their 240 union employees.\u00a0 The retail clerks union complained saying that unfair labor practices by the store\u2019s owners had prompted this shutdown.[footnote]\u201cSterling and Welch N.L.R.B. Vote.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 13, 1946.[\/footnote]\u00a0 A court injunction limited the number of picketers to two, one at each of the store\u2019s entrances.\u00a0 This dispute ended quickly.\r\n\r\nStore profits in 1947 and 1948 improved slightly.\u00a0 However, they paled when compared with the high profits enjoyed by other downtown department stores over that same two year period.\u00a0 Changing customer tastes as to what constituted fashionable interior d\u00e9cor and home furnishings spelled disaster for traditional downtown retailers such as Sterling & Welch.\u00a0 That store catered primarily to traditional wealthy classes who mostly favored classic designed furniture and interior accessories.\u00a0 However, Cleveland\u2019s new rich thought differently.\u00a0 They liked modern, avant-garde styles.\u00a0 The fact that many modern pieces of art and furniture may have lacked the quality attributed to traditional home furnishings did not faze the younger generation.\u00a0 They viewed traditional department stores\u00a0such as Sterling & Welch as stodgy and old fashion.\u00a0 These stores symbolized the kind of places that their parents and grandparents liked to shop, but not them.\u00a0 Even its fantastic Christmas tree and surrounding bright displays were not enough to keep them within the fold.\u00a0 They wanted retailers that catered to their mobile life styles.\r\n\r\nThe owners of this highly prestigious store, in 1947, began talking merger with prospects buyers.\u00a0 However, nothing materialized until March 1949 when Allied Stores, the new owner of Lindner & Davis Company, purchased controlling interest.[footnote] \u201cSterling and Welch Is Sold to Allied.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 12, 1949.[\/footnote]\u00a0 The new Board of Directors immediately authorized an $8,000,000 refurbishing of the downtown store.[footnote] Rockwell, Guy T. \u201cAllied Annual Report Shows 67.7% of Sterling Stock.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 7, 1949.[\/footnote] The architectural firm of Ward & Conrad\u00a0won the bid.\u00a0 Although the front fa\u00e7ade of the forty year old structure received a major face lift, the ornate exterior marquis remained untouched.[footnote]Greenough, Peter B. \u201cSterling and Welch to Get New Face.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 23, 1950.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis eventually moved into the former Higbee\u2019s building located at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 13th Street.\u00a0 Major renovations included modern incandescent aluminum spotlights, Plexiglas\u00a0display shelves and tilt-away drawers.\r\n\r\nThis merger involving three major downtown Cleveland department stores represented a major triumph for Allied Stores.\u00a0 Davis and Lindner were nationally-respected retailers.\u00a0 The older of the two, W.B. Davis Company opened, in 1880, at 241 Superior Avenue.[footnote] \u201cImportant Change.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 11, 1880.[\/footnote] Founded by William B. Davis\u00a0and Edwin Parsons, it became one of the first retail establishments in the country to offer a complete line of men\u2019s furnishings including ready-made shirts.\u00a0 A booming business with a wealthy customer-base from day one, W.B. Davis Company soon outgrew its cramped quarters.\u00a0 It relocated, in 1896, to larger facilities at 21 Euclid Avenue.[footnote] \u201cFor Rent.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, April 24, 1896.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nA prominent Cleveland businessman, William B. Davis\u00a0spent much of his time on his many philanthropic activities.\u00a0\u00a0 They included missionary work in Africa and expanding the YMCA.[footnote] \u201cWeek of Payer of YMCA.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 12, 1892.[\/footnote] Active in church affairs and civic reforms, Davis supported a wide range of community-based programs such as Indoor Games for Disadvantaged Youth\u00a0to summer camp for inner-city youth.\u00a0 The Cleveland Civic Federation, in 1894, named him one of the city\u2019s most prominent citizens.\u00a0 He also supported public improvements such as new arc street lights for Euclid Avenue.\r\n\r\nWilliam B. Davis, like many other late 19th and early 20th century business leaders, recognized that his long-term financial success depended on finding the proper niche.\u00a0 Realizing that most of his competitors did not sell quality sportswear or athletic gear, Davis, in 1900, became the sole Cleveland agent for Aertex Cellular Undergarments.\u00a0 Athletes liked their durability.\u00a0 He also offered clothing and equipment for football players.\u00a0 He even provided free football guide books.\u00a0 The store\u2019s motto during the first decade of the 20th century said it all \u201cWhen We Cut We Cut.\u201d[footnote] \u201cWhen We Cut We Cut.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 26, 1907.[\/footnote]\u00a0 The public loved to shop there.\u00a0 Davis, in 1907, moved his store to 307-311 Euclid Avenue, next to the Old Arcade.\u00a0 Within walking distance of other department stores, William B. Davis\u00a0joined them in promoting special events such as Joint Trade Week\u00a0and Home Weeks Celebrations.[footnote]\u201cJoint Trade Week and Autumn Display.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 1, 1904.[\/footnote] High profile activities such as those brought customers downtown.\r\n\r\nAlways ready to seize upon a golden opportunity, Davis soon expanded his retail lines to include women\u2019s and children\u2019s clothing.\u00a0 Expanding his clothing lines may have generated additional sales; however, it also resulted in high inventories.\u00a0 Opening a bargain outlet provided a practical solution to that dilemma.\u00a0 William B. Davis, in 1917, leased a site at 260 Superior Avenue\u00a0to sell his overstock.[footnote] \u201cThe Lid\u2019s Off.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, April 21, 1917.[\/footnote]\u00a0 At the same time, he also rented additional floors in his building and annex.\u00a0 Women\u2019s and children\u2019s clothes along with fashion accessories occupied the upper stories of the main building, while the annex became the new men\u2019s store.[footnote] \u201cDress Clothes.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 29, 1916.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nDavis believed very strongly in promotional activities and advertising.\u00a0 He knew what his customers wanted, and he never hesitated to give it to them.\u00a0 For example, he gave away a booklet in 1916 entitled \u201cCorrect Dress.\u201d[footnote]\u201cDress Clothes.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 29, 1916.[\/footnote]\u00a0 This guide assisted shoppers in selecting the \u201cproper\u201d evening attire.\u00a0 W.B. Davis Company also encouraged patrons to buy Christmas gifts earlier and arrange to have his store deliver them to their homes closer to the time.\r\n\r\nThis highly successful retail establishment led others in provided gift certificates for new customers valued anywhere from $1.00 to $3.00.[footnote] \u201cGifts for Men.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 21, 1916.[\/footnote] It also furnished lists of desirable Christmas gifts based on customers\u2019 pocketbooks.\u00a0 Store officials, beginning in 1917, initiated a liberal Christmas gift exchange program whereby those receiving unwanted gifts were able to exchange those items for others without the original purchaser accompanying them to the store.\u00a0 \u201cAt your Service\u201d symbolized much more than a catch phrase it was why W.B. Davis Company existed.[footnote] \u201cThe Men\u2019s Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 24, 1917.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe end of the First World War\u00a0signaled other significant changes.\u00a0 Executives, in 1918, proudly announced that their store would be carrying the Kuppenheimer clothing\u00a0line for men and boys.[footnote] \u201cGood Clothes By the House of Kuppenheimer.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 21, 1918.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Not surprisingly, W.B. Davis Company soon became Cleveland\u2019s largest men\u2019s specialty store.\u00a0 It also became the city\u2019s exclusive agent for Hickey-Freeman clothiers.\u00a0 Its distinguished patrons included the likes of President Warren G. Harding\u00a0and Cleveland business mogul John D. Rockefeller.\r\n\r\nOther major changes during the \u201cRoaring Twenties\u201d included closing the Superior Avenue\u00a0outlet and adding a new stylish hair salon.\u00a0 The W.B. Davis Company, in 1922, opened its-own restaurant called Schuder\u2019s.\u00a0 It offered daily luncheon specials for only $.30.[footnote] \u201cSchuder\u2019s Daily Luncheon for $.30.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, January 31, 1922.[\/footnote]\u00a0 This store also became a favorite with the country club set who purchased premier golf equipment at reasonable prices.\u00a0 Although William B. Davis, in 1927, retired from this business, he remained active at the store for the next fourteen years.\r\n\r\nThis well-run operation prospered into the Great Depression of the 1930s.\u00a0 Like its competitors, store sales plummeted during that decade.\u00a0 Davis tried to reverse this downward slide in the mid-1930s by introducing a modified installment plan.\u00a0 This installment plan required a minimum down payment on high cost merchandise and permitted up to six-months to pay the balance.\u00a0 However, there were few takers.\u00a0 Shrewd buying practices enabled W.B. Davis to weather the economic devastation wrought by the Great Depression.\u00a0 Periodic sales such as the \u201cAfter Christmas Sale\u201d liquidated overstock.[footnote] After Christmas Sale of Men\u2019s and Boy\u2019s Clothing.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 26, 1936.[\/footnote] Sales began to rebound in 1940 as more Clevelanders returned to work.\u00a0 Few envisioned the problems that lay ahead.\r\n\r\nStore employees, in August 1941, mourned the loss of William B. Davis\u00a0who was 90 years old.[footnote] \u201cW.B. Davis Rites Will Be Private.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>,\u201d August 15, 1941.[\/footnote]\u00a0 W.B. Davis Company, during the Second World War, along with the other downtown department stores worked diligently to sell war bonds and stamps.\u00a0 This retailer also assisted the American Red Cross\u00a0and various other civic groups in providing bandages, medicine, and other sundries to those serving in the armed force.\u00a0 Davis offered returning soldiers free wallet-sized photo copies of their discharge papers.\u00a0 Store officials also provided discharge emblems for only $.50 a piece plus tax.[footnote] \u201cAn Invitation to World War II Veterans.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 22, 1945.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nRumors surfaced immediately following the Second World War\u00a0that W.B. Davis Company was about to be sold.\u00a0 Dwindling sales and mounting costs prompted this speculation.\u00a0 However, store officials remained silent on this issue.\u00a0 Allied Stores, in November 1947, announced that it had purchased W.B. Davis Company for the bargain price of $750,000.[footnote] \u201cNo Change Seen in Davis Operations After Purchase.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 4, 1947.[\/footnote] The new Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company\u00a0opened on August 1, 1949 to rave reviews.\r\n\r\nThree well-known retailers Max J. Lindner, Max Hellman\u00a0and Morris A. Black, in 1908, founded the Lindner Company.\u00a0 Max J. Lindner\u00a0first came to Cleveland to serve as the General Manager for a major New York-based women\u2019s clothier called Oppenheim Collins & Company.\u00a0 Located on Euclid Avenue just to the east of East 9th Street, Oppenheim Collins remained in business until the 1930s.\u00a0 He served twenty-five years as a buyer for the May Company beginning in 1920.\u00a0 He was 73 years old when he died in September 1945.[footnote] \u201cObituaries, Max J. Lindner.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 9, 1945.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nMax Hellman\u00a0also had a well-earned reputation in women\u2019s fashion and served as the President of Lindner\u2019s until his untimely death in 1923.\u00a0 He was only 47 years old.[footnote] \u201cHead of Lindner Store Dies at 47.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, January 21, 1923.[\/footnote]\u00a0 A graduate of Harvard University and past President of H. Black & Company, a well-known women\u2019s clothing manufacturing firm, Morris Black (1869-1938) proudly served as Lindner\u2019s President for thirteen years beginning in 1923.[footnote] \u201cHe Applied His Principles.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, April 28, 1938.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThis retail establishment originated as a specialty shop for women.\u00a0 Known as Lindner Co\u2019y, it quickly gained a national reputation for selling quality items many imported directly from Paris.\u00a0 Top quality promoters in their-own right, Lindner, Hellman and Black frequently relied on promotional events and sales to stimulate business.\u00a0 One annual event called \u201cCelebrate Style Week\u201d brought thousands downtown.\u00a0 This celebration unveiled the latest fall and winter fashions.[footnote] \u201cThe Lindner Coy, Style Show Week.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 10, 1911.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nIncreasing sales convinced officials, in 1915, to vacate their small East 9th Street\u00a0quarters for new, more spacious quarters at 1331 Euclid Avenue.\u00a0 Thousands, the following year, flocked to its grand opening.\u00a0 They marveled at its elegant d\u00e9cor, exquisite furnishings, beautiful clothing and excellent sales staff.[footnote] \u201cThousands Marvel Lindner Company\u2019s New Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 14, 1915.[\/footnote]\u00a0 No other retailer between New York and Chicago could boast of such a beautiful setting.\u00a0 Later additions included a fashion setting millinery shop and popular tea room. This tea room offered patrons delicious $.65 lunches that ranged from club steak dinners with au gratin potatoes to corn beef hash with a poached egg.[footnote] \u201cIn the 4th Floor Tea Room.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 23, 1918.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nHowever, Lindner Co\u2019y\u00a0represented much more than just a prestigious department store.\u00a0 Its executives supported many worthwhile causes.\u00a0 For example, a group of alumni from Goucher College\u00a0in the mid-1920s worked at the store for one day.[footnote]\u201cGoucher Grads to Earn Quota as Hostesses.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 23, 1925.[\/footnote] The proceeds they earned that one day went towards establishing a college endowment campaign.\u00a0 Store officials four years later worked diligently with high school students from Brown Hathaway Academy\u00a0to present a fashion show.\u00a0 Local charities received the funds generated from this event.\r\n\r\nThese kinds of community-based activities paid-off well.\u00a0 High profits, low overhead costs\u00a0and a growing national reputation for high quality merchandise and honest prices encouraged Lindner\u2019s to establish branch stores.\u00a0 By the late 1920s, it ran stores in Toledo, OH; Mansfield, OH, Erie, PA, Elmira, NY\u00a0and Binghamton, NY.\r\n\r\nDuring the Great Depression of the 1930s, this highly innovative store introduced its-own new installment buying option.\u00a0 Officials permitted customers with good credit to pay off their monthly bills in three installments rather than have them pay one large sum at the end of the payment cycle.\u00a0 No hidden fees or added interest charges for this service.\u00a0 Not to be outdone by others, Lindner\u2019s, in the 1930s, ran periodic sales that focused on noteworthy events.\u00a0 They included \u201cThe Apple Blossom Sale\u201d and \u201cThree Day Handbag and Outerwear Sale.\u201d\u00a0 Another promotional activity entitled \u201cLiving Music Day\u00a0with the Carl Ludwig\u2019s String Ensemble\u201d brought thousands.[footnote]\u201cLindner\u2019s Participate in Living Music Day.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 11, 1933.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nLindner Co\u2019y, during the 1935-36 shopping season, initiated several significant changes.\u00a0 The first involved hiring \u201cspecial shoppers.\u201d\u00a0 These \u201cspecial shoppers\u201d assisted male customers in finding that perfect gift for the women in their lives.[footnote]\u201cLindner\u2019s Men\u2019s Buying Bureau Opens Today.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 12, 1935.[\/footnote]\u00a0 The second major change concerned expanding the store\u2019s clothing lines.\u00a0 It began in April 1936 with the introduction of men\u2019s silk dress ties, Oxford shirts and hand stitched wool socks and ended that November with several new lines of men\u2019s suits, sports jackets, pants and sports shirts.\r\n\r\nAlso, Lindner\u2019s, in 1936, introduced a new restaurant called the Continental.\u00a0 It featured reasonably priced French cuisine.[footnote] Bergman, Oscar A. \u201cAt the Stores and Shops.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 21, 1936.[\/footnote] Lindner Co\u2019y\u00a0board, that same year, announced extensive remodeling plans.\u00a0 These plans called for more openness on all floors by eliminating existing tall display counters and replacing them with smaller units.[footnote] Bergman, Oscar A. \u201cAt the Stores and Shops.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 6, 1936.[\/footnote] This popular store scored another first that year when it opened the first beauty salon in the nation constructed entirely of glass.\u00a0 Its chromium doors and see through windows blended in well with its black, peach, red and rose background shades.\u00a0 That new salon featured ten stalls.\r\n\r\nLindner Co\u2019y\u00a0continued to prosper into the war years.\u00a0 Like its competitors, Lindner\u2019s did its part for the war effort.\u00a0 Sales showed a marked improvement in 1945-46 as more enlisted men and women returned home.\u00a0 Unfortunately, mounting overhead costs\u00a0increasingly offset any sales gains.\u00a0 A brief recession in 1946 further cut profit margins.\u00a0 The store was in the red financially.\u00a0 After some heated discussion, officials determined that they must either sell the store or file for bankruptcy.\u00a0 Mack Gordon, the store\u2019s CEO and majority stockholder, agreed.\u00a0 His untimely death due to a plane crash in June, 1947 left the board no alternative.[footnote] \u201cLease Here Taken By Bonwit-Teller.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 23, 1947.[\/footnote] They must find a buyer and quickly.\u00a0 Fortunately, a national chain was waiting in the wings.\r\n\r\nHoping to gain a sizable foothold in the Cleveland retail market, the highly successful Allied Stores\u00a0seized the moment and purchased Lindner\u2019s.\u00a0 This sale occurred on the heels of a major announcement made by Bonwit Teller, a popular New York-based department store, that it had just signed a twenty year lease to occupy the former Lindner Building\u00a0at 1331 Euclid Avenue beginning in August 1948.[footnote] Ibid<\/em>.[\/footnote] Coincidentally, that was when Lindner\u2019s lease expired.\u00a0 President Gordon\u2019s replacement Simon Olson\u00a0announced the merger in October 1947.\u00a0 It cost Allied Stores about $1,000,000.[footnote] \u201cNew Lindner\u2019s to Become General Department Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 30, 1947.[\/footnote] Under this merger agreement, preferred stockholders\u00a0received $43.00 a share for their Lindner stock through reissued Allied Stores stock.\r\n\r\nKnown originally as the Hahn Department Store, this national chain became the Allied Stores\u00a0in 1935.\u00a0 This growing retailer operated 73 stores including Boston\u2019s prestigious Jordan Marsh Company.[footnote]Ibid<\/em>.[\/footnote] Its Acting Managing Director E. Perkins McGuire\u00a0(1904-1982) announced that this merger along with the buyout of W.B. Davis Company would result in a brand new department store called Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 A specialty store similar in many ways to Neiman Marcus\u00a0or Saks-5th Avenue, the new Lindner-Davis opened in June 1949.[footnote] \u201cLindner-Davis Company to Open in June.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 27, 1948.[\/footnote] This new downtown retailer welcomed over 75,000 customers on opening day.\u00a0 Every person entering the premises that day received a baby orchid from Hawaii.\u00a0 In the background, shoppers heard beautiful music played by string trios.[footnote] \u201cJam Lindner-Davis to Flee Heat and Revel in Orchids.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 27, 1949.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nAllied Stores, announced in 1950, that it was adding Sterling & Welch to Lindner-Davis to create a new enlarged retail establishment called Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 The local press expressed great excitement about this new department store.\u00a0 They saw this massive investment as a sign of wonderful things yet to come.\u00a0 The \u201cnew and improved\u201d Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company\u00a0featured the well-known Allen Travel Agency\u00a0and a prestigious new shopping service referred to as \u201cRed Hat Service.\u201d[footnote]\u201cTravel News and Comment.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 31, 1949. \u201cBusinessmen to Get Gift Shopping Aid.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 17, 1950.[\/footnote] Conducted within a quiet, dignified in-store suite, Red Hat Service provided utmost service for discerning businessmen who wanted to purchase the perfect gift.\r\n\r\nPeople came great distances to shop in its popular Oriental rug gallery and nationally-renowned furniture department.\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis the \u201cHomemaker\u2019s Headquarters\u201d also catered to thoughtful women.[footnote] Goodsell, Winifred H. \u201cView Paris Fashions at Style Show.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, February 22, 1951.[\/footnote] Store officials, throughout the 1950s, prided themselves on their Parisian fashion shows geared for up-and-coming Clevelanders.\u00a0 This major retailer, during the Korean Conflict, sponsored bake-off contests with the winning cakes being sent to combat soldiers.[footnote]Robertson, Helen. \u201cCake Baking Contest Follows Decoration Day Home Holiday.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 30, 1951.[\/footnote]\u00a0 This store also supported numerous charities such as the Society for Cripple Children\u00a0and the Children\u2019s Aid Society.\r\n\r\nThe landmark Sterling-Lindner-Davis Christmas brought thousands of children and their parents to the store annually.\u00a0 Over 50 feet high adorned with thousands of lights and nearly 100 pounds of tinsel, officials claimed that it was the largest Christmas tree in any U.S. department store.\u00a0 In fact, it took volunteers almost 600 hours to decorate it.\u00a0 Whether it was the largest tree or not this magnificent spruce pine lent a festive air to every holiday season.\r\n\r\nThe sales staff at Sterling-Lindner-Davis enjoyed good benefits and wages based in large part on its overall record sales.\u00a0 For example, the board in 1950 reported overall sales of $476,692,651 with net earnings of $14,944,382 or $6.69 a common share.[footnote] \u201cAllied Stores Sales Records $476,692,651 But Net Dips to $3.31 a Share.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, May 3, 1952.[\/footnote] Allied Stores\u00a0high profits and reasonable debt ceiling enabled store officials to hire very competent salespersons and managers.\r\n\r\nEmployee loyalty was tested in the early 1950s when the Van Drivers Union Local #392\u00a0of the A.F. of L attempted to unionize store employees.\u00a0 The American Federation of Labor appealed to federal officials for assistance.[footnote] \u201cRegional Stabilization Board to Organize September 24th.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 7, 1951.[\/footnote] The National Labor Relations Board and Wage Stabilization Board\u00a0determined that the salary levels and fringe benefits offered Sterling-Lindner-Davis employees did indeed meet all federal guidelines and that unionization was not a priority.\r\n\r\nSome disgruntle W.B. Davis & Co. stockholders, in 1952, filed a law suit in the U.S. District Court.\u00a0 They claimed that the purchase of W.B. Davis & Co. represented a tax-free transaction and that they had been forced to pay taxes on it.\u00a0 These stockholders demanded a refund.\u00a0 Opposing counsel pointed out that this so-called tax-free transaction was, in reality, a simple company restructuring whereby the Allied Stores\u00a0had exchanged 1 \u00bd shares of its-own company\u2019s common stock for every one surrendered by Davis investors.\u00a0 The District Court Judge found in favor of the defendant, no refund.[footnote] \u201c8,677 Is Sought as Income Tax Refund in W.B. Davis Deal.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 15, 1952.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nAllied Stores\u00a0used a wide variety of promotions, in the early 1950s, to bolster sales.\u00a0 For example, Sterling-Lindner-Davis, in 1951, introduced its-own version of the Easter\u00a0Bunny.\u00a0 This six foot bunny, called \u201cLindee,\u201d handed children candy and other gifts in the weeks prior to Easter.\u00a0 Store executives and Westinghouse, that same year, co-sponsored an impressive science display featuring the atom.\u00a0 The Allied chain, in 1951, posted impressive sales records of $476,692,651 equal to $3.31 a share.\u00a0 That compared with $439,908,620 in 1950.[footnote] \u201cAllied Stores Sales Records $476,692,651 But Net Dips to $3.31 a Share.\u201d[\/footnote] For customers interested in automobiles, the store, in 1952, showcased the latest models of Ford Motor Company\u00a0along with other foreign sports cars.[footnote] \u201cYou Can Win a Big New \u201952 Ford.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, February 1, 1952.[\/footnote] Officials, the next year, hosted a special exhibition dedicated to the Netherlands.\u00a0 It included over 3,000 tulips.\u00a0 An African violet exhibition also brought thousands of shoppers into the store.\r\n\r\nNineteen Fifty-three ended with Santa Claus\u00a0arriving at the store in a new Jaguar sports car.\u00a0 A talking mule, similar to the one featured in the popular movie comedies Francis the Talking Mule, entertained young children for hours at a time.[footnote] \u201cTalking Mule Gets Kick from Chatter of Young Friends.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 26, 1953.[\/footnote] Sterling-Lindner-Davis, in March 1954, dazzled its customers when it demonstrated the first color televisions available in the Cleveland market.\u00a0 Manufactured by Raytheon Corporation\u00a0of Sudbury, MA\u00a0and costing over $1,200 a piece, they required a special $300.000 antenna.[footnote] \u201cColor TV Shown Four Places Today.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 13, 1954.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Store executives also provided eight ponies for children to pet that summer.\r\n\r\nOne of its most successful promotions in the mid-1950s involved the city\u2019s professional baseball team, the Cleveland Indians.\u00a0 Every other year the store sponsored a contest for young boys.\u00a0 The winner became the Cleveland Indians bat boy for the next two year period.\u00a0 He also received $1,000 in cash and a complete Cleveland Indians outfit.[footnote]\u201cBat Boy Contest is Past Halfway Mark.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 15, 1954.[\/footnote]\u00a0 This retailer\u2019s invitational golf outing also fired up the imagination of many of its customers.\u00a0 Participating golfers not only had the chance to win prizes, but also, play in some of the area\u2019s finest golf courses.\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis, beginning in 1956, awarded special trophies to the winners of the Gordon Shore Boat Club\u2019s Annual Sailing Marathon.\r\n\r\nThis retailer also received a prestigious national award from the National Retail Dry Goods Association\u00a0for its highly effective advertising campaigns.\u00a0 Unfortunately, profits did not continue to soar through 1954 even though net sales were up 2% over 1953 levels.[footnote] Bryan, John E. \u201cAllied Reports,\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 16, 1954.[\/footnote] This unexpected reversal in sales did not faze Allied Stores.\u00a0 Officials knew that sales in their Cleveland store would rebound, and of course, they were correct.\r\n\r\nSales increased by nearly 20% during the first six months of 1955 over the previous year\u2019s level.\u00a0 Consolidated net earnings stood at $1,675,874 for the 2nd Quarter ending July 31, 1955.\u00a0 That equaled $.56 a common share as compared to $1,316,241 or $.48 a share the previous year.[footnote] \u201cSales, Profit Up at Allied Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, September 10, 1955.[\/footnote]\u00a0 To mark this special occasion, the Easy Washing Machine Company\u00a0of Syracuse, NY\u00a0awarded Sterling-Lindner-Davis its coveted sales plaque.\u00a0 This Cleveland store led the nation in the sales of their appliances.[footnote] \u201cSterling Lindner Davis Gets Award in Sales Contest.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 1, 1955.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe Equitable Life Assurance Society in September 1956 announced plans to invest $3,000,000 in Sterling-Lindner-Davis over the next two years. Net income for Allied for the three months ending October 31, 1956 was $3,131,197 or equal to $1.10 a share as compared to $3,373,718 or $1.22 a share for the same period in 1955.[footnote] \u201cProfit Dip Shown by Allied Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, December 4, 1956.[\/footnote]\u00a0 Hoping to stimulate sales even further during the second half of the 1950s, the Board of Directors authorized the construction of a seven hundred car parking lot on the site of the store\u2019s former warehouse and Navy Building.\u00a0 Store officials announced that this new parking lot would provide both short-term and long-term parking.\u00a0 Tenants displaced by this action included WEWS-TV-5; Innerman\u2019s Records, Evangel Book Store\u00a0and the International Shop.[footnote] \u201cSterling Lindner Davis to Expand Parking Spaces.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 12, 1956.[\/footnote]\u00a0 It opened for business in 1957.\r\n\r\nRiding the crest of its biggest sales volume ever, executives expanded store night hours.\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis would now be opened Monday and Thursday nights with free shuttle service running between the store and Terminal Tower.\u00a0 The Allied Stores\u00a0expressed great confidence in their recent investments.\u00a0 Officials firmly believed that this department store would continue to generate high returns for many years to come.\u00a0 Unfortunately, their optimism quickly faded.\r\n\r\nA recession that began in the fall of 1957 and lasted well into 1958 resulted in a 36% drop in sales.\u00a0 With the idea of cutting mounting debt, the Allied Stores, in July 1958, reshuffled several departments.\u00a0 Store officials combined apparel and fashion accessories and transferred notions and stationary to home furnishings.[footnote] \u201cSterling Lindner Davis Combines Divisions.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 30, 1958.[\/footnote] Board members believed that their move would make Sterling-Lindner-Davis more competitive by eliminating duplication of services.\u00a0 Behind the scenes, the Allied Stores Board of Directors wondered if these changes would really bolster lagging sales or not.\u00a0 It was anyone\u2019s guess.\u00a0\u00a0 However, one thing was certain Allied Stores was making money even in the Cleveland store was not faring so well financially.[footnote] \u201cAllied Stores Chain Increases Sales Over \u201957 Levels.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, November 21, 1958.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThis new efficiency move might have proven to be a stroke of genius had the Cleveland retail market rebounded.\u00a0 Regrettably, it did not happen.\u00a0 A major decline in industrial jobs, growing poverty and a mass migration first to inner-ring suburbs and then later to other parts of the nation would spell disaster for many downtown department stores.\u00a0 Only a select few would survive.\u00a0 This economic reality so evident to even casual observers in the 1970s eluded the city\u2019s retail leaders twenty years earlier.\u00a0 Their traditional business strategies proved ill-advised given the volatile nature of the local economy.\r\n\r\nAllied Stores\u00a0officials, in the latter months of 1960, announced that further changes were coming.\u00a0 However, they remained vague on specifics.\u00a0 Instead, they said that the board was contemplating changing the store\u2019s image or possibly converting it into a local discount department store.[footnote] \u201cAllied Stores Eyes Changes for Sterling\u2019s.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 29, 1960.[\/footnote] Allied executives, behind closed doors, asked other retail chains if they would be interested in purchase this store.\u00a0 No one responded to their inquiry.\u00a0 A Cleveland retail icon for nearly one hundred years, Sterling-Lindner-Davis\u2019s recent lackluster sales performance spelled disaster.\r\n\r\nHowever, any future plans to sell the store remained in the background.\u00a0 Allied Stores, in 1963, faced a more immediate threat.\u00a0 Theodore W. Berenson, a well-known Boston developer, filed a law suit in Common Pleas Court\u00a0against Allied.\u00a0 He wanted to purchase the Sterling-Lindner-Davis annex and an adjacent parking lot as part of a major new apartment complex.\u00a0 Situated at the southeast corner of East 12th Street and Chester Avenue, the two parcels, in question, were part of the Erieview\u00a0Urban Renewal project.[footnote]Segal, Eugene. \u201cTrial set for Lindner Land Suit.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 8, 1963.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe Board of Directors demanded $3,200,000 for the two parcels which totaled 32,868 square feet.\u00a0 City of Cleveland officials wanted to sell the sites for $1,600,000.\u00a0 The Common Pleas court found in favor of Berenson and the City of Cleveland.\u00a0 Allied Stores\u00a0executives complied with the court order and demolished both the annex and adjacent parking lot.\u00a0 Berenson erected the Chesterfield Apartments\u00a0on the site.\u00a0 This unfavorable court decision convinced the board that they must either close Sterling-Lindner-Davis as soon as possible.\r\n\r\nDecreasing store sales in the mid-1960s made it worse.\u00a0 Stockholders complained that Sterling-Lindner-Davis symbolized an albatross around their necks.\u00a0 They had a point.\u00a0 Allied Stores\u00a0earnings in 1965 increased to $22,255,000 or $7.38 a common share as compared to $17,735,000 or $5.84 a common share the previous year.\u00a0 Net sales that same year topped $955,490,000.\u00a0 That represented an increase of $62,117,000 from 1964 figures.[footnote] \u201cEarnings Raised By Allied Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, April 7, 1966.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThis financial picture appeared very positive, but not for Sterling-Lindner-Davis which continued to post losses.\u00a0 Board members found this unnerving.\u00a0 Why were the majority of affiliates doing so well while Sterling-Lindner-Davis was doing so poorly?\u00a0 The board responded by conducting their-own analysis.\u00a0 They discovered that if the Allied chain could rid itself of Sterling-Lindner-Davis at that moment, its net earnings would increase by 11% and its debt would decrease by 15%.\u00a0 All agreed that their downtown Cleveland department store must go.\r\n\r\nThe Board of Directors, in 1965, started furloughing Sterling-Lindner-Davis salespersons and managers.\u00a0 They also discontinued some of the store\u2019s quality merchandise.\u00a0 This once respected downtown department store soon became a shell of itself.\u00a0 The Allied Board of Directors on July 9, 1968 finally announced the closing of Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 Allied stores 2nd quarter earnings for 1968 stood at $800,925 equal to $.08 a common share down from $1,897,400 equal to $.23 a share posted the previous year.\u00a0 Additional expenses incurred from closing both Sterling-Lindner-Davis and its Columbus, OH-based Fashion stores\u00a0accounted for this downturn.[footnote] Barmash, Isadore. \u201cFederated and Allied Chains Report Six Month Dip in Profits.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, August 27, 1968.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nMidwestern Land Development Corporation\u00a0purchased Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 This development company intended to build a 400-unit hotel at the parcel\u2019s west end and renovate the store\u2019s first floor for a bank.[footnote] Bryan, John E. \u201cMotel Slated for Sterling Lindner Site.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 9, 1968.[\/footnote] They also wanted to convert the store\u2019s upper floors for office space.\u00a0 The proposed hotel never materialized and Cuyahoga County\u00a0now occupies the office space.\u00a0 A prestigious retail shop utilizes the street level.\r\n\r\nSterling-Lindner-Davis was a victim of changing times.\u00a0 The Allied Stores\u00a0never understood downtown Cleveland retailing.\u00a0 They thought that they would generate sizable profits year after year by simply riding on the coattails of their predecessors.\u00a0 Why tinker with success?\u00a0 In reality, Allied officials were reluctant to invest long-term in this store or adjust to the changing needs and wants of Cleveland shoppers.\u00a0 Instead, they conducted business as usual.\u00a0 Customers were not fooled by their actions.\u00a0 Use to getting the best possible merchandise at the lowest possible prices, shoppers increasingly spent their hard-earned dollars at other, more fashionable retail establishments.\u00a0 The necessity of following the business dictates of local retail markets never worried the Allied chain.\u00a0 In their minds, an affiliate either fulfilled its intended profit goals or it was gone.\u00a0 This steadfast bottom line rule sealed the fate of Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\r\n\r\nIts closing had very little impact on the Allied Stores\u00a0nationally.\u00a0 Business went on as usual for that multi-million dollar operation.\u00a0 Expansion remained a primary business objective for this retailer for the next twenty years.\u00a0 However, all of that changed in 1981 when the Allied chain acquired a large conglomerate that included Brooks Brothers, Garfinkel\u2019 and Miller & Rhoads.\u00a0\u00a0 That merger cost this retail giant $210,000,000.[footnote] Barmash, Isadore. \u201cAllied Now Seeks All of Garfinckel.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, August 15, 1981.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThese mergers sparked the interest of a shrewd Canadian entrepreneur\u00a0named Robert Campeau.\u00a0 He purchased the Allied Stores\u00a0chain, in 1986, for $3,600,000,000 and Federated, in 1988, for $6,600,000,000.[footnote] Barmash, Isadore. \u201c Campeau Involves Bankruptcy Code for Its Big Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, January 16, 1990.[\/footnote] Campeau then merged the two chains to create one new retail giant called Federated Department Stores.\u00a0 Faced with crushing debt, this retail chain in 1990 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[footnote] Shapiro, Eben. \u201cTwo Retailers See End to Chapter 11.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, January 11, 1992.[\/footnote] Hoping to salvage the corporation, its creditors forgave $3,000,000,000 to $8,000,000,000 of its debt.[footnote] Shapiro, Eben. \u201cTwo Retailers See End to Chapter 11.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, January 11, 1992.[\/footnote] A new, more fiscally responsible Federated Department Stores re-emerged in 1992.\u00a0 Its board designated Macy\u2019s\u00a0its new standard bearer.\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"

The Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company represented the oldest of eight major department stores in downtown Cleveland.\u00a0 It began rather modestly in 1845 as the Thomas S. Beckwith Dry Goods\u00a0Company.\u00a0 A highly respected and innovative business leader, Thomas Beckwith\u00a0(1821-1876) operated a very successful enterprise for many years.\u00a0[1]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0His store at 187-189 Superior Avenue\u00a0featured costly broadloom carpets, ornate window shades, historic tapestries and elegant lace curtains.\u00a0[2]<\/sup><\/a> George P. Welch\u00a0and W.R. Havens\u00a0in 1865 joined the firm.\u00a0 With the addition, in 1867, of local retailer Frederick A. Sterling, this specialty store became Beckwith, Sterling and Company.\u00a0[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Known for its oil cloths, upholstered goods and velvet, Beckwith\u2019s enjoyed a period of unprecedented growth following the Civil War. \u00a0Under the able leadership of Frederick A. Sterling\u00a0(1831-1919), this retail establishment, in 1874, moved from its cramped Superior Avenue\u00a0quarters to a more modern and spacious facility at 6 Euclid Street.\u00a0[4]<\/sup><\/a> With the death of T.S. Beckwith, the store became known as Sterling & Company.\u00a0 Sterling & Company remained at that site until 1883 when it relocated to 10 Euclid Street.[5]<\/sup><\/a> These premises featured ornate lighting, splashy glass display counters and thick broadloom carpeting.<\/p>\n

Providing free carpeting for large commercial structures such as auditoriums, office buildings and hotels, helped to promote this department store.\u00a0\u00a0 Sterling & Company also furnished free carpeting for special events and model homes. This advertising devise impressed many including Euclid Avenue millionaires.\u00a0 They increasingly shopped at Sterling & Company.\u00a0 A sizable investment by George W. Kleim, in 1885, led to the store\u2019s incorporation in January 1886.\u00a0 Now recast as Sterling & Welch Company, this retailer soon found that its limited selection of merchandise hindered its potential future growth.\u00a0 In particular, their lack of home furnishings forced the wealthy Euclid Avenue crowd to look elsewhere.\u00a0 In order to remedy this situation, Sterling & Welch expanded its product lines to include quality furniture, special electrical fixtures, comfortable hammocks, and beautiful Turkish rugs.\u00a0[6]<\/sup><\/a> Store officials also offered porch canopies and luxurious matting.<\/p>\n

Expanding their lines paid-off handsomely.\u00a0 It soon became the popular store for Cleveland\u2019s elite.\u00a0 Store officials cherished that distinction for many years.\u00a0 National trade journals at the turn of the last century praised Sterling & Welch as one of Ohio\u2019s finest and largest home furnishing stores.\u00a0 Their knowledgeable sales staff was second to none.\u00a0 Economic depressions in 1893 and 1907 did not adversely affect it as store sales reached impressive, new levels.<\/p>\n

To celebrate its phenomenal growth, Sterling & Welch Company\u00a0in 1908 began construction on their new department store.\u00a0 Situated in the heart of Playhouse Square\u00a0at 1225-39 Euclid Avenue and designed by the noted local architect J. Milton Dyer\u00a0(1870-1957), this $500,000, five-story reinforced steel structure featured a fanciful terra-cotta exterior veneer.\u00a0 It opened for business in May 1909.\u00a0[7]<\/sup><\/a> Sterling & Welch was now the 4th largest store in Cleveland.\u00a0 Its landmark French styled wrought-iron and glass front portico shielded shoppers from inclement weather for many years to come.\u00a0 This new retail establishment included model showrooms, 3,000 sprinklers, three large elevators, a freight elevator and an attached warehouse.\u00a0 It also boasted a pneumatic messenger service and state-of-the-art cleaning system throughout.<\/p>\n

The Sterling & Welch Company\u00a0took great pride in their versatile interior decorators.\u00a0 They knew quality design and recognized value.\u00a0 The store expanded its merchandise line further during the First World War.\u00a0 New items included such things as specialty lighting fixtures, electric radiators, refrigerators, electric iron and washing machines.\u00a0[8]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0Employees also volunteered in preparing supplies for the various military hospitals.\u00a0[9]<\/sup><\/a> The 1920s began with officials expanding the store\u2019s delivery fleet.\u00a0 Board members also unveiled the \u201cthe Aisle of Gifts.\u201d\u00a0 Placed within the store\u2019s enormous atrium, this aisle made Christmas shopping much easier especially for men.\u00a0 Sales rose significantly during the mid-1920s with the introduction of vacuum cleaners, metal safety deposit boxes and Japanese wicker baskets.<\/p>\n

Officials, in the 1920s, also introduced their-own Bureau of Suggestions.[10]<\/sup><\/a> This new department, in cooperation with its decorating division, offered advice on redecorating homes and offices.\u00a0 The Sterling & Welch Company\u00a0also sponsored an interior decorating show on WJAX-radio.[11]<\/sup><\/a> It opened in 1926 a new warehouse and prestigious art gallery.\u00a0 An outgrowth of an earlier traveling show that featured painting and sculpture, this gallery sold fine art.\u00a0 The public loved it and it soon became a permanent department in Sterling & Welch.[12]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Further additions to this store in the late 1920s included an expanded china and crystal department, majestic living room exhibition, model kitchen, lighting salon and floor covering gallery.\u00a0 Sterling & Welch in June 1929 opened its-own special economy basement.[13]<\/sup><\/a> This department contained fifteen model rooms each with its-own inexpensive furniture, curtains, lamps, mirrors and pictures.\u00a0 The Great Depression of the 1930s represented a period of great change and compromise for this store.\u00a0 This venerable retail establishment attempted to help its customers financially.\u00a0 It unveiled a new deferred payment plan\u00a0whereby qualified customers had up to eight months from the time of purchase to pay the balance due without incurring any additional charges.[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0New merchandise presented in the 1930s included electric ranges, different brands of -radios and phonographs and improved electric washing machines.<\/p>\n

Officials at Sterling & Welch also sponsored a number of special promotions and contests throughout the 1930s and 1940s.\u00a0 One of these promotions involved a mechanical robot called Willie Vocalite.[15]<\/sup><\/a> It could do many things much to the delight of its audience.\u00a0 Store officials also co-sponsored Annual Treasure Hunts.\u00a0 Winners won over $2,000 in cash prizes.\u00a0 Store executives, in 1932, unveiled their first spruce Christmas tree.[16]<\/sup><\/a> An immediate favorite with shoppers, it was located within the retailer\u2019s gift shop court.\u00a0 By the 1960s, it topped fifty feet and included 1,300 electric lights, 1,500 ornaments and 60 pounds of tinfoil icicles.\u00a0 Sterling and Welch, in 1940, led the pact when it introduced mail order shopping and special mail-in coupons.[17]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Christmas gift certificates also appeared for the first time in 1940 as did free home demonstrations for the brand new Apex Deluxe Cabinet Ironer.[18]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The winter of 1942 found executives at Sterling & Welch selling a great many U.S. War Bonds and Savings Stamps.\u00a0 Store officials, that same year, shortened business hours and put a freeze on hiring.[19]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Unfortunately, unanticipated new problems surfaced much to the dismay of store executives.\u00a0 The American Federation of Labor Retail Clerks Union, dissatisfied with management\u2019s treatment of union employees, closed the store on March 12, 1946.\u00a0 Store officials asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)\u00a0to select a bargaining agent for their 240 union employees.\u00a0 The retail clerks union complained saying that unfair labor practices by the store\u2019s owners had prompted this shutdown.[20]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 A court injunction limited the number of picketers to two, one at each of the store\u2019s entrances.\u00a0 This dispute ended quickly.<\/p>\n

Store profits in 1947 and 1948 improved slightly.\u00a0 However, they paled when compared with the high profits enjoyed by other downtown department stores over that same two year period.\u00a0 Changing customer tastes as to what constituted fashionable interior d\u00e9cor and home furnishings spelled disaster for traditional downtown retailers such as Sterling & Welch.\u00a0 That store catered primarily to traditional wealthy classes who mostly favored classic designed furniture and interior accessories.\u00a0 However, Cleveland\u2019s new rich thought differently.\u00a0 They liked modern, avant-garde styles.\u00a0 The fact that many modern pieces of art and furniture may have lacked the quality attributed to traditional home furnishings did not faze the younger generation.\u00a0 They viewed traditional department stores\u00a0such as Sterling & Welch as stodgy and old fashion.\u00a0 These stores symbolized the kind of places that their parents and grandparents liked to shop, but not them.\u00a0 Even its fantastic Christmas tree and surrounding bright displays were not enough to keep them within the fold.\u00a0 They wanted retailers that catered to their mobile life styles.<\/p>\n

The owners of this highly prestigious store, in 1947, began talking merger with prospects buyers.\u00a0 However, nothing materialized until March 1949 when Allied Stores, the new owner of Lindner & Davis Company, purchased controlling interest.[21]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The new Board of Directors immediately authorized an $8,000,000 refurbishing of the downtown store.[22]<\/sup><\/a> The architectural firm of Ward & Conrad\u00a0won the bid.\u00a0 Although the front fa\u00e7ade of the forty year old structure received a major face lift, the ornate exterior marquis remained untouched.[23]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis eventually moved into the former Higbee\u2019s building located at the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 13th Street.\u00a0 Major renovations included modern incandescent aluminum spotlights, Plexiglas\u00a0display shelves and tilt-away drawers.<\/p>\n

This merger involving three major downtown Cleveland department stores represented a major triumph for Allied Stores.\u00a0 Davis and Lindner were nationally-respected retailers.\u00a0 The older of the two, W.B. Davis Company opened, in 1880, at 241 Superior Avenue.[24]<\/sup><\/a> Founded by William B. Davis\u00a0and Edwin Parsons, it became one of the first retail establishments in the country to offer a complete line of men\u2019s furnishings including ready-made shirts.\u00a0 A booming business with a wealthy customer-base from day one, W.B. Davis Company soon outgrew its cramped quarters.\u00a0 It relocated, in 1896, to larger facilities at 21 Euclid Avenue.[25]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

A prominent Cleveland businessman, William B. Davis\u00a0spent much of his time on his many philanthropic activities.\u00a0\u00a0 They included missionary work in Africa and expanding the YMCA.[26]<\/sup><\/a> Active in church affairs and civic reforms, Davis supported a wide range of community-based programs such as Indoor Games for Disadvantaged Youth\u00a0to summer camp for inner-city youth.\u00a0 The Cleveland Civic Federation, in 1894, named him one of the city\u2019s most prominent citizens.\u00a0 He also supported public improvements such as new arc street lights for Euclid Avenue.<\/p>\n

William B. Davis, like many other late 19th and early 20th century business leaders, recognized that his long-term financial success depended on finding the proper niche.\u00a0 Realizing that most of his competitors did not sell quality sportswear or athletic gear, Davis, in 1900, became the sole Cleveland agent for Aertex Cellular Undergarments.\u00a0 Athletes liked their durability.\u00a0 He also offered clothing and equipment for football players.\u00a0 He even provided free football guide books.\u00a0 The store\u2019s motto during the first decade of the 20th century said it all \u201cWhen We Cut We Cut.\u201d[27]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The public loved to shop there.\u00a0 Davis, in 1907, moved his store to 307-311 Euclid Avenue, next to the Old Arcade.\u00a0 Within walking distance of other department stores, William B. Davis\u00a0joined them in promoting special events such as Joint Trade Week\u00a0and Home Weeks Celebrations.[28]<\/sup><\/a> High profile activities such as those brought customers downtown.<\/p>\n

Always ready to seize upon a golden opportunity, Davis soon expanded his retail lines to include women\u2019s and children\u2019s clothing.\u00a0 Expanding his clothing lines may have generated additional sales; however, it also resulted in high inventories.\u00a0 Opening a bargain outlet provided a practical solution to that dilemma.\u00a0 William B. Davis, in 1917, leased a site at 260 Superior Avenue\u00a0to sell his overstock.[29]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 At the same time, he also rented additional floors in his building and annex.\u00a0 Women\u2019s and children\u2019s clothes along with fashion accessories occupied the upper stories of the main building, while the annex became the new men\u2019s store.[30]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Davis believed very strongly in promotional activities and advertising.\u00a0 He knew what his customers wanted, and he never hesitated to give it to them.\u00a0 For example, he gave away a booklet in 1916 entitled \u201cCorrect Dress.\u201d[31]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 This guide assisted shoppers in selecting the \u201cproper\u201d evening attire.\u00a0 W.B. Davis Company also encouraged patrons to buy Christmas gifts earlier and arrange to have his store deliver them to their homes closer to the time.<\/p>\n

This highly successful retail establishment led others in provided gift certificates for new customers valued anywhere from $1.00 to $3.00.[32]<\/sup><\/a> It also furnished lists of desirable Christmas gifts based on customers\u2019 pocketbooks.\u00a0 Store officials, beginning in 1917, initiated a liberal Christmas gift exchange program whereby those receiving unwanted gifts were able to exchange those items for others without the original purchaser accompanying them to the store.\u00a0 \u201cAt your Service\u201d symbolized much more than a catch phrase it was why W.B. Davis Company existed.[33]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The end of the First World War\u00a0signaled other significant changes.\u00a0 Executives, in 1918, proudly announced that their store would be carrying the Kuppenheimer clothing\u00a0line for men and boys.[34]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Not surprisingly, W.B. Davis Company soon became Cleveland\u2019s largest men\u2019s specialty store.\u00a0 It also became the city\u2019s exclusive agent for Hickey-Freeman clothiers.\u00a0 Its distinguished patrons included the likes of President Warren G. Harding\u00a0and Cleveland business mogul John D. Rockefeller.<\/p>\n

Other major changes during the \u201cRoaring Twenties\u201d included closing the Superior Avenue\u00a0outlet and adding a new stylish hair salon.\u00a0 The W.B. Davis Company, in 1922, opened its-own restaurant called Schuder\u2019s.\u00a0 It offered daily luncheon specials for only $.30.[35]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 This store also became a favorite with the country club set who purchased premier golf equipment at reasonable prices.\u00a0 Although William B. Davis, in 1927, retired from this business, he remained active at the store for the next fourteen years.<\/p>\n

This well-run operation prospered into the Great Depression of the 1930s.\u00a0 Like its competitors, store sales plummeted during that decade.\u00a0 Davis tried to reverse this downward slide in the mid-1930s by introducing a modified installment plan.\u00a0 This installment plan required a minimum down payment on high cost merchandise and permitted up to six-months to pay the balance.\u00a0 However, there were few takers.\u00a0 Shrewd buying practices enabled W.B. Davis to weather the economic devastation wrought by the Great Depression.\u00a0 Periodic sales such as the \u201cAfter Christmas Sale\u201d liquidated overstock.[36]<\/sup><\/a> Sales began to rebound in 1940 as more Clevelanders returned to work.\u00a0 Few envisioned the problems that lay ahead.<\/p>\n

Store employees, in August 1941, mourned the loss of William B. Davis\u00a0who was 90 years old.[37]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 W.B. Davis Company, during the Second World War, along with the other downtown department stores worked diligently to sell war bonds and stamps.\u00a0 This retailer also assisted the American Red Cross\u00a0and various other civic groups in providing bandages, medicine, and other sundries to those serving in the armed force.\u00a0 Davis offered returning soldiers free wallet-sized photo copies of their discharge papers.\u00a0 Store officials also provided discharge emblems for only $.50 a piece plus tax.[38]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Rumors surfaced immediately following the Second World War\u00a0that W.B. Davis Company was about to be sold.\u00a0 Dwindling sales and mounting costs prompted this speculation.\u00a0 However, store officials remained silent on this issue.\u00a0 Allied Stores, in November 1947, announced that it had purchased W.B. Davis Company for the bargain price of $750,000.[39]<\/sup><\/a> The new Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company\u00a0opened on August 1, 1949 to rave reviews.<\/p>\n

Three well-known retailers Max J. Lindner, Max Hellman\u00a0and Morris A. Black, in 1908, founded the Lindner Company.\u00a0 Max J. Lindner\u00a0first came to Cleveland to serve as the General Manager for a major New York-based women\u2019s clothier called Oppenheim Collins & Company.\u00a0 Located on Euclid Avenue just to the east of East 9th Street, Oppenheim Collins remained in business until the 1930s.\u00a0 He served twenty-five years as a buyer for the May Company beginning in 1920.\u00a0 He was 73 years old when he died in September 1945.[40]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Max Hellman\u00a0also had a well-earned reputation in women\u2019s fashion and served as the President of Lindner\u2019s until his untimely death in 1923.\u00a0 He was only 47 years old.[41]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 A graduate of Harvard University and past President of H. Black & Company, a well-known women\u2019s clothing manufacturing firm, Morris Black (1869-1938) proudly served as Lindner\u2019s President for thirteen years beginning in 1923.[42]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

This retail establishment originated as a specialty shop for women.\u00a0 Known as Lindner Co\u2019y, it quickly gained a national reputation for selling quality items many imported directly from Paris.\u00a0 Top quality promoters in their-own right, Lindner, Hellman and Black frequently relied on promotional events and sales to stimulate business.\u00a0 One annual event called \u201cCelebrate Style Week\u201d brought thousands downtown.\u00a0 This celebration unveiled the latest fall and winter fashions.[43]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Increasing sales convinced officials, in 1915, to vacate their small East 9th Street\u00a0quarters for new, more spacious quarters at 1331 Euclid Avenue.\u00a0 Thousands, the following year, flocked to its grand opening.\u00a0 They marveled at its elegant d\u00e9cor, exquisite furnishings, beautiful clothing and excellent sales staff.[44]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 No other retailer between New York and Chicago could boast of such a beautiful setting.\u00a0 Later additions included a fashion setting millinery shop and popular tea room. This tea room offered patrons delicious $.65 lunches that ranged from club steak dinners with au gratin potatoes to corn beef hash with a poached egg.[45]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

However, Lindner Co\u2019y\u00a0represented much more than just a prestigious department store.\u00a0 Its executives supported many worthwhile causes.\u00a0 For example, a group of alumni from Goucher College\u00a0in the mid-1920s worked at the store for one day.[46]<\/sup><\/a> The proceeds they earned that one day went towards establishing a college endowment campaign.\u00a0 Store officials four years later worked diligently with high school students from Brown Hathaway Academy\u00a0to present a fashion show.\u00a0 Local charities received the funds generated from this event.<\/p>\n

These kinds of community-based activities paid-off well.\u00a0 High profits, low overhead costs\u00a0and a growing national reputation for high quality merchandise and honest prices encouraged Lindner\u2019s to establish branch stores.\u00a0 By the late 1920s, it ran stores in Toledo, OH; Mansfield, OH, Erie, PA, Elmira, NY\u00a0and Binghamton, NY.<\/p>\n

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, this highly innovative store introduced its-own new installment buying option.\u00a0 Officials permitted customers with good credit to pay off their monthly bills in three installments rather than have them pay one large sum at the end of the payment cycle.\u00a0 No hidden fees or added interest charges for this service.\u00a0 Not to be outdone by others, Lindner\u2019s, in the 1930s, ran periodic sales that focused on noteworthy events.\u00a0 They included \u201cThe Apple Blossom Sale\u201d and \u201cThree Day Handbag and Outerwear Sale.\u201d\u00a0 Another promotional activity entitled \u201cLiving Music Day\u00a0with the Carl Ludwig\u2019s String Ensemble\u201d brought thousands.[47]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Lindner Co\u2019y, during the 1935-36 shopping season, initiated several significant changes.\u00a0 The first involved hiring \u201cspecial shoppers.\u201d\u00a0 These \u201cspecial shoppers\u201d assisted male customers in finding that perfect gift for the women in their lives.[48]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The second major change concerned expanding the store\u2019s clothing lines.\u00a0 It began in April 1936 with the introduction of men\u2019s silk dress ties, Oxford shirts and hand stitched wool socks and ended that November with several new lines of men\u2019s suits, sports jackets, pants and sports shirts.<\/p>\n

Also, Lindner\u2019s, in 1936, introduced a new restaurant called the Continental.\u00a0 It featured reasonably priced French cuisine.[49]<\/sup><\/a> Lindner Co\u2019y\u00a0board, that same year, announced extensive remodeling plans.\u00a0 These plans called for more openness on all floors by eliminating existing tall display counters and replacing them with smaller units.[50]<\/sup><\/a> This popular store scored another first that year when it opened the first beauty salon in the nation constructed entirely of glass.\u00a0 Its chromium doors and see through windows blended in well with its black, peach, red and rose background shades.\u00a0 That new salon featured ten stalls.<\/p>\n

Lindner Co\u2019y\u00a0continued to prosper into the war years.\u00a0 Like its competitors, Lindner\u2019s did its part for the war effort.\u00a0 Sales showed a marked improvement in 1945-46 as more enlisted men and women returned home.\u00a0 Unfortunately, mounting overhead costs\u00a0increasingly offset any sales gains.\u00a0 A brief recession in 1946 further cut profit margins.\u00a0 The store was in the red financially.\u00a0 After some heated discussion, officials determined that they must either sell the store or file for bankruptcy.\u00a0 Mack Gordon, the store\u2019s CEO and majority stockholder, agreed.\u00a0 His untimely death due to a plane crash in June, 1947 left the board no alternative.[51]<\/sup><\/a> They must find a buyer and quickly.\u00a0 Fortunately, a national chain was waiting in the wings.<\/p>\n

Hoping to gain a sizable foothold in the Cleveland retail market, the highly successful Allied Stores\u00a0seized the moment and purchased Lindner\u2019s.\u00a0 This sale occurred on the heels of a major announcement made by Bonwit Teller, a popular New York-based department store, that it had just signed a twenty year lease to occupy the former Lindner Building\u00a0at 1331 Euclid Avenue beginning in August 1948.[52]<\/sup><\/a> Coincidentally, that was when Lindner\u2019s lease expired.\u00a0 President Gordon\u2019s replacement Simon Olson\u00a0announced the merger in October 1947.\u00a0 It cost Allied Stores about $1,000,000.[53]<\/sup><\/a> Under this merger agreement, preferred stockholders\u00a0received $43.00 a share for their Lindner stock through reissued Allied Stores stock.<\/p>\n

Known originally as the Hahn Department Store, this national chain became the Allied Stores\u00a0in 1935.\u00a0 This growing retailer operated 73 stores including Boston\u2019s prestigious Jordan Marsh Company.[54]<\/sup><\/a> Its Acting Managing Director E. Perkins McGuire\u00a0(1904-1982) announced that this merger along with the buyout of W.B. Davis Company would result in a brand new department store called Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 A specialty store similar in many ways to Neiman Marcus\u00a0or Saks-5th Avenue, the new Lindner-Davis opened in June 1949.[55]<\/sup><\/a> This new downtown retailer welcomed over 75,000 customers on opening day.\u00a0 Every person entering the premises that day received a baby orchid from Hawaii.\u00a0 In the background, shoppers heard beautiful music played by string trios.[56]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Allied Stores, announced in 1950, that it was adding Sterling & Welch to Lindner-Davis to create a new enlarged retail establishment called Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 The local press expressed great excitement about this new department store.\u00a0 They saw this massive investment as a sign of wonderful things yet to come.\u00a0 The \u201cnew and improved\u201d Sterling-Lindner-Davis Company\u00a0featured the well-known Allen Travel Agency\u00a0and a prestigious new shopping service referred to as \u201cRed Hat Service.\u201d[57]<\/sup><\/a> Conducted within a quiet, dignified in-store suite, Red Hat Service provided utmost service for discerning businessmen who wanted to purchase the perfect gift.<\/p>\n

People came great distances to shop in its popular Oriental rug gallery and nationally-renowned furniture department.\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis the \u201cHomemaker\u2019s Headquarters\u201d also catered to thoughtful women.[58]<\/sup><\/a> Store officials, throughout the 1950s, prided themselves on their Parisian fashion shows geared for up-and-coming Clevelanders.\u00a0 This major retailer, during the Korean Conflict, sponsored bake-off contests with the winning cakes being sent to combat soldiers.[59]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 This store also supported numerous charities such as the Society for Cripple Children\u00a0and the Children\u2019s Aid Society.<\/p>\n

The landmark Sterling-Lindner-Davis Christmas brought thousands of children and their parents to the store annually.\u00a0 Over 50 feet high adorned with thousands of lights and nearly 100 pounds of tinsel, officials claimed that it was the largest Christmas tree in any U.S. department store.\u00a0 In fact, it took volunteers almost 600 hours to decorate it.\u00a0 Whether it was the largest tree or not this magnificent spruce pine lent a festive air to every holiday season.<\/p>\n

The sales staff at Sterling-Lindner-Davis enjoyed good benefits and wages based in large part on its overall record sales.\u00a0 For example, the board in 1950 reported overall sales of $476,692,651 with net earnings of $14,944,382 or $6.69 a common share.[60]<\/sup><\/a> Allied Stores\u00a0high profits and reasonable debt ceiling enabled store officials to hire very competent salespersons and managers.<\/p>\n

Employee loyalty was tested in the early 1950s when the Van Drivers Union Local #392\u00a0of the A.F. of L attempted to unionize store employees.\u00a0 The American Federation of Labor appealed to federal officials for assistance.[61]<\/sup><\/a> The National Labor Relations Board and Wage Stabilization Board\u00a0determined that the salary levels and fringe benefits offered Sterling-Lindner-Davis employees did indeed meet all federal guidelines and that unionization was not a priority.<\/p>\n

Some disgruntle W.B. Davis & Co. stockholders, in 1952, filed a law suit in the U.S. District Court.\u00a0 They claimed that the purchase of W.B. Davis & Co. represented a tax-free transaction and that they had been forced to pay taxes on it.\u00a0 These stockholders demanded a refund.\u00a0 Opposing counsel pointed out that this so-called tax-free transaction was, in reality, a simple company restructuring whereby the Allied Stores\u00a0had exchanged 1 \u00bd shares of its-own company\u2019s common stock for every one surrendered by Davis investors.\u00a0 The District Court Judge found in favor of the defendant, no refund.[62]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Allied Stores\u00a0used a wide variety of promotions, in the early 1950s, to bolster sales.\u00a0 For example, Sterling-Lindner-Davis, in 1951, introduced its-own version of the Easter\u00a0Bunny.\u00a0 This six foot bunny, called \u201cLindee,\u201d handed children candy and other gifts in the weeks prior to Easter.\u00a0 Store executives and Westinghouse, that same year, co-sponsored an impressive science display featuring the atom.\u00a0 The Allied chain, in 1951, posted impressive sales records of $476,692,651 equal to $3.31 a share.\u00a0 That compared with $439,908,620 in 1950.[63]<\/sup><\/a> For customers interested in automobiles, the store, in 1952, showcased the latest models of Ford Motor Company\u00a0along with other foreign sports cars.[64]<\/sup><\/a> Officials, the next year, hosted a special exhibition dedicated to the Netherlands.\u00a0 It included over 3,000 tulips.\u00a0 An African violet exhibition also brought thousands of shoppers into the store.<\/p>\n

Nineteen Fifty-three ended with Santa Claus\u00a0arriving at the store in a new Jaguar sports car.\u00a0 A talking mule, similar to the one featured in the popular movie comedies Francis the Talking Mule, entertained young children for hours at a time.[65]<\/sup><\/a> Sterling-Lindner-Davis, in March 1954, dazzled its customers when it demonstrated the first color televisions available in the Cleveland market.\u00a0 Manufactured by Raytheon Corporation\u00a0of Sudbury, MA\u00a0and costing over $1,200 a piece, they required a special $300.000 antenna.[66]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Store executives also provided eight ponies for children to pet that summer.<\/p>\n

One of its most successful promotions in the mid-1950s involved the city\u2019s professional baseball team, the Cleveland Indians.\u00a0 Every other year the store sponsored a contest for young boys.\u00a0 The winner became the Cleveland Indians bat boy for the next two year period.\u00a0 He also received $1,000 in cash and a complete Cleveland Indians outfit.[67]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 This retailer\u2019s invitational golf outing also fired up the imagination of many of its customers.\u00a0 Participating golfers not only had the chance to win prizes, but also, play in some of the area\u2019s finest golf courses.\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis, beginning in 1956, awarded special trophies to the winners of the Gordon Shore Boat Club\u2019s Annual Sailing Marathon.<\/p>\n

This retailer also received a prestigious national award from the National Retail Dry Goods Association\u00a0for its highly effective advertising campaigns.\u00a0 Unfortunately, profits did not continue to soar through 1954 even though net sales were up 2% over 1953 levels.[68]<\/sup><\/a> This unexpected reversal in sales did not faze Allied Stores.\u00a0 Officials knew that sales in their Cleveland store would rebound, and of course, they were correct.<\/p>\n

Sales increased by nearly 20% during the first six months of 1955 over the previous year\u2019s level.\u00a0 Consolidated net earnings stood at $1,675,874 for the 2nd Quarter ending July 31, 1955.\u00a0 That equaled $.56 a common share as compared to $1,316,241 or $.48 a share the previous year.[69]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 To mark this special occasion, the Easy Washing Machine Company\u00a0of Syracuse, NY\u00a0awarded Sterling-Lindner-Davis its coveted sales plaque.\u00a0 This Cleveland store led the nation in the sales of their appliances.[70]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Equitable Life Assurance Society in September 1956 announced plans to invest $3,000,000 in Sterling-Lindner-Davis over the next two years. Net income for Allied for the three months ending October 31, 1956 was $3,131,197 or equal to $1.10 a share as compared to $3,373,718 or $1.22 a share for the same period in 1955.[71]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Hoping to stimulate sales even further during the second half of the 1950s, the Board of Directors authorized the construction of a seven hundred car parking lot on the site of the store\u2019s former warehouse and Navy Building.\u00a0 Store officials announced that this new parking lot would provide both short-term and long-term parking.\u00a0 Tenants displaced by this action included WEWS-TV-5; Innerman\u2019s Records, Evangel Book Store\u00a0and the International Shop.[72]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 It opened for business in 1957.<\/p>\n

Riding the crest of its biggest sales volume ever, executives expanded store night hours.\u00a0 Sterling-Lindner-Davis would now be opened Monday and Thursday nights with free shuttle service running between the store and Terminal Tower.\u00a0 The Allied Stores\u00a0expressed great confidence in their recent investments.\u00a0 Officials firmly believed that this department store would continue to generate high returns for many years to come.\u00a0 Unfortunately, their optimism quickly faded.<\/p>\n

A recession that began in the fall of 1957 and lasted well into 1958 resulted in a 36% drop in sales.\u00a0 With the idea of cutting mounting debt, the Allied Stores, in July 1958, reshuffled several departments.\u00a0 Store officials combined apparel and fashion accessories and transferred notions and stationary to home furnishings.[73]<\/sup><\/a> Board members believed that their move would make Sterling-Lindner-Davis more competitive by eliminating duplication of services.\u00a0 Behind the scenes, the Allied Stores Board of Directors wondered if these changes would really bolster lagging sales or not.\u00a0 It was anyone\u2019s guess.\u00a0\u00a0 However, one thing was certain Allied Stores was making money even in the Cleveland store was not faring so well financially.[74]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

This new efficiency move might have proven to be a stroke of genius had the Cleveland retail market rebounded.\u00a0 Regrettably, it did not happen.\u00a0 A major decline in industrial jobs, growing poverty and a mass migration first to inner-ring suburbs and then later to other parts of the nation would spell disaster for many downtown department stores.\u00a0 Only a select few would survive.\u00a0 This economic reality so evident to even casual observers in the 1970s eluded the city\u2019s retail leaders twenty years earlier.\u00a0 Their traditional business strategies proved ill-advised given the volatile nature of the local economy.<\/p>\n

Allied Stores\u00a0officials, in the latter months of 1960, announced that further changes were coming.\u00a0 However, they remained vague on specifics.\u00a0 Instead, they said that the board was contemplating changing the store\u2019s image or possibly converting it into a local discount department store.[75]<\/sup><\/a> Allied executives, behind closed doors, asked other retail chains if they would be interested in purchase this store.\u00a0 No one responded to their inquiry.\u00a0 A Cleveland retail icon for nearly one hundred years, Sterling-Lindner-Davis\u2019s recent lackluster sales performance spelled disaster.<\/p>\n

However, any future plans to sell the store remained in the background.\u00a0 Allied Stores, in 1963, faced a more immediate threat.\u00a0 Theodore W. Berenson, a well-known Boston developer, filed a law suit in Common Pleas Court\u00a0against Allied.\u00a0 He wanted to purchase the Sterling-Lindner-Davis annex and an adjacent parking lot as part of a major new apartment complex.\u00a0 Situated at the southeast corner of East 12th Street and Chester Avenue, the two parcels, in question, were part of the Erieview\u00a0Urban Renewal project.[76]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Board of Directors demanded $3,200,000 for the two parcels which totaled 32,868 square feet.\u00a0 City of Cleveland officials wanted to sell the sites for $1,600,000.\u00a0 The Common Pleas court found in favor of Berenson and the City of Cleveland.\u00a0 Allied Stores\u00a0executives complied with the court order and demolished both the annex and adjacent parking lot.\u00a0 Berenson erected the Chesterfield Apartments\u00a0on the site.\u00a0 This unfavorable court decision convinced the board that they must either close Sterling-Lindner-Davis as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Decreasing store sales in the mid-1960s made it worse.\u00a0 Stockholders complained that Sterling-Lindner-Davis symbolized an albatross around their necks.\u00a0 They had a point.\u00a0 Allied Stores\u00a0earnings in 1965 increased to $22,255,000 or $7.38 a common share as compared to $17,735,000 or $5.84 a common share the previous year.\u00a0 Net sales that same year topped $955,490,000.\u00a0 That represented an increase of $62,117,000 from 1964 figures.[77]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

This financial picture appeared very positive, but not for Sterling-Lindner-Davis which continued to post losses.\u00a0 Board members found this unnerving.\u00a0 Why were the majority of affiliates doing so well while Sterling-Lindner-Davis was doing so poorly?\u00a0 The board responded by conducting their-own analysis.\u00a0 They discovered that if the Allied chain could rid itself of Sterling-Lindner-Davis at that moment, its net earnings would increase by 11% and its debt would decrease by 15%.\u00a0 All agreed that their downtown Cleveland department store must go.<\/p>\n

The Board of Directors, in 1965, started furloughing Sterling-Lindner-Davis salespersons and managers.\u00a0 They also discontinued some of the store\u2019s quality merchandise.\u00a0 This once respected downtown department store soon became a shell of itself.\u00a0 The Allied Board of Directors on July 9, 1968 finally announced the closing of Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 Allied stores 2nd quarter earnings for 1968 stood at $800,925 equal to $.08 a common share down from $1,897,400 equal to $.23 a share posted the previous year.\u00a0 Additional expenses incurred from closing both Sterling-Lindner-Davis and its Columbus, OH-based Fashion stores\u00a0accounted for this downturn.[78]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Midwestern Land Development Corporation\u00a0purchased Sterling-Lindner-Davis.\u00a0 This development company intended to build a 400-unit hotel at the parcel\u2019s west end and renovate the store\u2019s first floor for a bank.[79]<\/sup><\/a> They also wanted to convert the store\u2019s upper floors for office space.\u00a0 The proposed hotel never materialized and Cuyahoga County\u00a0now occupies the office space.\u00a0 A prestigious retail shop utilizes the street level.<\/p>\n

Sterling-Lindner-Davis was a victim of changing times.\u00a0 The Allied Stores\u00a0never understood downtown Cleveland retailing.\u00a0 They thought that they would generate sizable profits year after year by simply riding on the coattails of their predecessors.\u00a0 Why tinker with success?\u00a0 In reality, Allied officials were reluctant to invest long-term in this store or adjust to the changing needs and wants of Cleveland shoppers.\u00a0 Instead, they conducted business as usual.\u00a0 Customers were not fooled by their actions.\u00a0 Use to getting the best possible merchandise at the lowest possible prices, shoppers increasingly spent their hard-earned dollars at other, more fashionable retail establishments.\u00a0 The necessity of following the business dictates of local retail markets never worried the Allied chain.\u00a0 In their minds, an affiliate either fulfilled its intended profit goals or it was gone.\u00a0 This steadfast bottom line rule sealed the fate of Sterling-Lindner-Davis.<\/p>\n

Its closing had very little impact on the Allied Stores\u00a0nationally.\u00a0 Business went on as usual for that multi-million dollar operation.\u00a0 Expansion remained a primary business objective for this retailer for the next twenty years.\u00a0 However, all of that changed in 1981 when the Allied chain acquired a large conglomerate that included Brooks Brothers, Garfinkel\u2019 and Miller & Rhoads.\u00a0\u00a0 That merger cost this retail giant $210,000,000.[80]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

These mergers sparked the interest of a shrewd Canadian entrepreneur\u00a0named Robert Campeau.\u00a0 He purchased the Allied Stores\u00a0chain, in 1986, for $3,600,000,000 and Federated, in 1988, for $6,600,000,000.[81]<\/sup><\/a> Campeau then merged the two chains to create one new retail giant called Federated Department Stores.\u00a0 Faced with crushing debt, this retail chain in 1990 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[82]<\/sup><\/a> Hoping to salvage the corporation, its creditors forgave $3,000,000,000 to $8,000,000,000 of its debt.[83]<\/sup><\/a> A new, more fiscally responsible Federated Department Stores re-emerged in 1992.\u00a0 Its board designated Macy\u2019s\u00a0its new standard bearer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

  1. \u201cDeath of T.S. Beckwith.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 7, 1876. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. \u201cCarpets, New Carpets for the Spring Trade.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 8, 1867. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. \u201cSterling and Welch President is Dead.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, February 23, 1920. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. \u201cNew Mammoth Carpet Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 17, 1874. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  5. \u201cSterling and Company Are Offering the Largest and Most Varied Assortment of Choice Fall Styles.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 10, 1883. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  6. \u201cHammocks, Mosquito Canopies.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 23, 1884. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  7. \u201cThe Sterling and Welch Company.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 6, 1909. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  8. \u201cFor Sixty Dollars.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 14, 1915. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  9. \u201cPrepare Supplies for War Hospital.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 8, 1914. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  10. \u201cA Gorgeous Autumnal Showing of the World\u2019s Applied Arts.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 25, 1925. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  11. \u201cRadio Programs for Today.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 9, 1924. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  12. \u201cA Sale that Places the Smartest of Summer Furniture in Every Home.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 20, 1926. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  13. \u201cTomorrow, The Sterling and Welch Company Announce the Economy Basement Opens Saturday.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 27, 1929. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  14. \u201cChristmas Cheer Throughout the Year with Radio.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 14, 1930. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  15. \u201cToday Only, Willie Vocalite.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 14, 1931. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  16. \u201cTree Grows in Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 13, 1932. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  17. \u201cBest Curtain Values, In the Twice-A-Year Sale.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 27, 1940. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  18. \u201cApex Deluxe Cabinet Ironer.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 27, 1940. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  19. \u201cTwice-a-Year Sale.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 19, 1942. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  20. \u201cSterling and Welch N.L.R.B. Vote.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 13, 1946. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  21. \u201cSterling and Welch Is Sold to Allied.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 12, 1949. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  22. Rockwell, Guy T. \u201cAllied Annual Report Shows 67.7% of Sterling Stock.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 7, 1949. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  23. Greenough, Peter B. \u201cSterling and Welch to Get New Face.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 23, 1950. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  24. \u201cImportant Change.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 11, 1880. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  25. \u201cFor Rent.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, April 24, 1896. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  26. \u201cWeek of Payer of YMCA.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 12, 1892. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  27. \u201cWhen We Cut We Cut.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 26, 1907. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  28. \u201cJoint Trade Week and Autumn Display.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 1, 1904. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  29. \u201cThe Lid\u2019s Off.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, April 21, 1917. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  30. \u201cDress Clothes.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 29, 1916. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  31. \u201cDress Clothes.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 29, 1916. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  32. \u201cGifts for Men.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 21, 1916. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  33. \u201cThe Men\u2019s Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 24, 1917. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  34. \u201cGood Clothes By the House of Kuppenheimer.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 21, 1918. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  35. \u201cSchuder\u2019s Daily Luncheon for $.30.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, January 31, 1922. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  36. After Christmas Sale of Men\u2019s and Boy\u2019s Clothing.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 26, 1936. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  37. \u201cW.B. Davis Rites Will Be Private.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>,\u201d August 15, 1941. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  38. \u201cAn Invitation to World War II Veterans.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 22, 1945. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  39. \u201cNo Change Seen in Davis Operations After Purchase.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 4, 1947. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  40. \u201cObituaries, Max J. Lindner.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 9, 1945. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  41. \u201cHead of Lindner Store Dies at 47.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, January 21, 1923. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  42. \u201cHe Applied His Principles.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, April 28, 1938. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  43. \u201cThe Lindner Coy, Style Show Week.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 10, 1911. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  44. \u201cThousands Marvel Lindner Company\u2019s New Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 14, 1915. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  45. \u201cIn the 4th Floor Tea Room.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, August 23, 1918. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  46. \u201cGoucher Grads to Earn Quota as Hostesses.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 23, 1925. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  47. \u201cLindner\u2019s Participate in Living Music Day.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 11, 1933. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  48. \u201cLindner\u2019s Men\u2019s Buying Bureau Opens Today.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, December 12, 1935. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  49. Bergman, Oscar A. \u201cAt the Stores and Shops.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 21, 1936. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  50. Bergman, Oscar A. \u201cAt the Stores and Shops.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 6, 1936. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  51. \u201cLease Here Taken By Bonwit-Teller.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 23, 1947. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  52. Ibid<\/em>. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  53. \u201cNew Lindner\u2019s to Become General Department Store.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 30, 1947. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  54. Ibid<\/em>. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  55. \u201cLindner-Davis Company to Open in June.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 27, 1948. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  56. \u201cJam Lindner-Davis to Flee Heat and Revel in Orchids.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 27, 1949. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  57. \u201cTravel News and Comment.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 31, 1949. \u201cBusinessmen to Get Gift Shopping Aid.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 17, 1950. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  58. Goodsell, Winifred H. \u201cView Paris Fashions at Style Show.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, February 22, 1951. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  59. Robertson, Helen. \u201cCake Baking Contest Follows Decoration Day Home Holiday.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, May 30, 1951. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  60. \u201cAllied Stores Sales Records $476,692,651 But Net Dips to $3.31 a Share.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, May 3, 1952. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  61. \u201cRegional Stabilization Board to Organize September 24th.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 7, 1951. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  62. \u201c8,677 Is Sought as Income Tax Refund in W.B. Davis Deal.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 15, 1952. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  63. \u201cAllied Stores Sales Records $476,692,651 But Net Dips to $3.31 a Share.\u201d ↵<\/a><\/li>
  64. \u201cYou Can Win a Big New \u201952 Ford.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, February 1, 1952. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  65. \u201cTalking Mule Gets Kick from Chatter of Young Friends.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, November 26, 1953. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  66. \u201cColor TV Shown Four Places Today.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 13, 1954. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  67. \u201cBat Boy Contest is Past Halfway Mark.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, March 15, 1954. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  68. Bryan, John E. \u201cAllied Reports,\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, June 16, 1954. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  69. \u201cSales, Profit Up at Allied Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, September 10, 1955. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  70. \u201cSterling Lindner Davis Gets Award in Sales Contest.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 1, 1955. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  71. \u201cProfit Dip Shown by Allied Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, December 4, 1956. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  72. \u201cSterling Lindner Davis to Expand Parking Spaces.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, October 12, 1956. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  73. \u201cSterling Lindner Davis Combines Divisions.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 30, 1958. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  74. \u201cAllied Stores Chain Increases Sales Over \u201957 Levels.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, November 21, 1958. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  75. \u201cAllied Stores Eyes Changes for Sterling\u2019s.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 29, 1960. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  76. Segal, Eugene. \u201cTrial set for Lindner Land Suit.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, September 8, 1963. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  77. \u201cEarnings Raised By Allied Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, April 7, 1966. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  78. Barmash, Isadore. \u201cFederated and Allied Chains Report Six Month Dip in Profits.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, August 27, 1968. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  79. Bryan, John E. \u201cMotel Slated for Sterling Lindner Site.\u201d The Cleveland Plain Dealer<\/em>, July 9, 1968. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  80. Barmash, Isadore. \u201cAllied Now Seeks All of Garfinckel.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, August 15, 1981. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  81. Barmash, Isadore. \u201c Campeau Involves Bankruptcy Code for Its Big Stores.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, January 16, 1990. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  82. Shapiro, Eben. \u201cTwo Retailers See End to Chapter 11.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, January 11, 1992. ↵<\/a><\/li>
  83. Shapiro, Eben. \u201cTwo Retailers See End to Chapter 11.\u201d The New York Times<\/em>, January 11, 1992. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":4,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[47],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-47","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-standard"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/47\/revisions\/186"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/47\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/lets-go-shopping\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}